Montana’s absentee system, which allows certain registered voters to cast their vote electronically, was missing a presidential candidate when it went live Friday at 8 a.m.: Vice President Kamala Harris.
A glitch in the state’s electronic absentee system caused Harris to be wiped from the ballot, leaving former President Donald Trump and independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the only listed options for voters. As soon as reports of the missing candidate hit the secretary of state’s office, the program was taken offline to troubleshoot and then promptly restored by Friday afternoon.
Voters who were impacted by the missing candidate had the chance to recast their ballots, which were fixed to include the full list of presidential nominees, later that day.
Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen released a statement on the glitch Monday morning.
“No, Montana did not leave a candidate off the 2024 General Election ballot. Contrary to egregious misinformation campaigns circulating online, the Montana Secretary of State’s Office certified all qualified candidates to appear on its 2024 General Election ballot,” the statement said. “No ballots were affected, including those that will be sent to registered absentee voters and those that will be presented to voters at the polling place on Election Day.”
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The absentee system operates under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act and gives U.S. citizens who are abroad or on active duty the opportunity to vote within 45 days of the election, which began on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024.
Absentee voting will continue until Nov. 5, and in-person absentee voting will begin Oct. 7.
